A measure of the curvature in the relationship between bond prices and interest rates, capturing how duration changes as yields change. Positive convexity benefits bondholders by providing asymmetric price sensitivity to rate changes.
From Latin 'convexus' meaning 'arched' or 'curved outward.' The financial application emerged from advanced bond mathematics in the 1980s to describe the curved, rather than linear, relationship between bond prices and yields.
Convexity is like a financial shock absorber that works in your favor - bonds with high convexity lose less when rates rise but gain more when rates fall! It's the reason why zero-coupon bonds and mortgage-backed securities behave differently than simple duration models predict.
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